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After renting a car from Madrid and driving the six-plus-some-odd-hours including a detour through Toledo without a map, Bianco and I found ourselves in the charming little Andalusian town of Benamocarra (as we were to find out on our journey maps only get you so far anyway.) Bianco and I were headed to Bambu, the lesbian resort in the south of Spain.

I’d never been to Spain and had no plans of going. Like many Americans I’ve had a Franco-Italian-o bias when it came to Europe. Especially as an artist, I thought, its all about Paris, Florence, Venice or Rome! Oh how wrong-o I have been. So if it weren’t for the invitation of Catherine Potter, co-owner of Bambu, I would have never gone.

Avocado groves, Benamocarra

For over a decade Brits, Catherine Potter and her partner Susanne (and their now adult children) had been vacationing off the beaten path in the white villages of Andalucía, a destination for many northern Europeans. And for seven of those years the couple fantasized about opening a resort for lesbians. Two years ago their dream came true when they found a charming farm house set in-between mango and avocado groves along the Coasta del Sol.

Before we could congratulate ourselves for driving through southern Spain sans-GPS, we drove around the town of Benamocarra several times, got caught behind a herd of goats, and finally managed through Bianco’s broken Spanish, to communicate with a local who led us via scooter to Bambu’s gates. We arrived a few days before “singles-week” so had the place to ourselves for a bit. It was divine.

view from Bambu

Bambu is beautifully kept, clean, traditional whitewashed villa that Catherine and Susanne have converted into “self-service resort” with seven fully furnished suites complete with a full kitchen and most importantly, (when you’ve been traveling for days) laundry facilities. The communal area is replete with swimming pool and barbie. The view is spectacular, surrounded by the mountain ranges and clear Mediterranean blue skies. And what is a lesbian villa without cats.

Freddie one of three Bambu cats

Catherine oriented us for things to do around town as well as day trips we could take from Bambu. We opted for horseback riding, and spent one evening in town with two other guests—who became our fast friendsfrom the UK/Ireland—to watch to the European Cup at a local pub. We took a day trip to the historic town of Malaga, birthplace of Picasso and one of the old forts, Alcazaba, of the Moorish Empire.

Alcazaba, Malaga